Bio

Shawn earned a Biology degree from Longwood College and landed a role as a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep at Roche Laboratories, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Nutley, NJ. His territory covered Northern Virginia, parts of West Virginia, and Maryland. He quickly developed a knack for sales strategy and relationship selling, and his skills earned him sales awards and travel incentives for reaching and exceeding sales goals.

Despite his sales success, Shawn felt a ‘call’ to ministry and began studying Christian Counseling at Capital Bible Seminary in Lanham, MD. He then joined the staff of Destiny Baptist Church in Martinsburg, WV.  There he was ordained and served in the post of Pastor of Mission and Outreach. He also served as the Executive Director of the church’s non-profit, The Imani Foundation. In that capacity, Shawn engaged the church in its first overseas mission projects while leading 12 separate ministry teams focused on serving youth and families within the Martinsburg community. In addition to the pastoral duties of preaching, teaching, and counseling, he acquired skills in program development and grant writing. Through the foundation, he developed partnerships and garnered funding from Ryan Homes, Berkeley County Board of Education, and American Public University to run summer youth programming at the local Boys & Girls Club. Shawn also began significant advocacy work with marginalized groups, including individuals with HIV/AIDS, veterans exiting drug rehabilitation programs, and at-risk youth. 

In 2007, Shawn left the ministry to serve as the Vice President of Operations for ECDA Acquisitions, an event production company focused on youth athletics. As the leader of the east coast division of this Ohio-based firm, Shawn honed his skills in marketing, project management, and budgeting. He led a team of 40+ full-time, part-time, and contract staff members in the planning and execution of more than 20 events at various arenas and convention centers along the Atlantic coast. During his tenure, he was instrumental in the organization’s strategic planning efforts and was a leader in the design of the company’s online registration and payment platform. While at ECDA, Shawn attended the University of Richmond to complete a certification in Business Coaching.

Shawn returned to his passion for advocating for marginalized communities in 2016 by taking on the Director of Workforce Development role at Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia. As the director, Shawn led a team of 75 staff members engaged in job readiness, job placement, and employee support activities for TANF recipients, those released from incarceration, and individuals with educational and work experience barriers. His regional team served the southeastern portion of the state and operated programs out of 3 community employment centers. Shawn then matriculated to the Director of Vocational Services position, which offered the same services with a specialized focus on individuals with disabilities. This opportunity required him to work closely with the organization’s accreditation and compliance teams which enabled him to lead his staff through several successful CARF re-accreditation processes and Medicaid audits. His work in this division led to an appointment by the Virginia State Senate to serve on the Employment Service Organization Steering Committee (ESOSC), a group formed to advise the Commissioner of the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) on how to allocate state and federal funding for disability employment services.

Presently Shawn serves as the State Director for the Virginia Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP), a Medicare advocacy program focused on educating and supporting seniors in preventing, detecting, and reporting healthcare fraud, errors, and abuse. Shawn leads a team of more than a hundred paid and volunteer staff in providing services statewide through sub-contract partnerships with the state’s 25 local area agencies on aging. His work with the SMP led him to author 101 Fraud Tips, an economic empowerment resource designed to help seniors protect their assets and identity from scammers. Shawn travels the state making presentations and serves as an SME on various panels and committees.

In addition to his Business Coaching certification, Shawn is also certified in Life and Executive Coaching.  His coaching practice focuses on helping individuals make transformational changes in their lives, practically and spiritually. Through his coaching, he hopes to help people live lives of meaningful purpose.  Shawn is one of the creatives and business strategists at Mraz and Company, an agency of collaborative consultants that share mission-oriented core values and practices.

In his spare time, Shawn volunteers in many capacities. He’s continued his advocacy work by serving on the boards of Diversity Richmond, Virginia Ability, and the Virginia SALT Council, organizations that serve the LGBTQ, disabled, and senior communities, respectively. A 2018 graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond (LMR), Shawn served on the organization’s Finance committee. In 2021, Governor Ralph Northam appointed him to the Longwood University Board of Visitors. 

Shawn has two sons, Shawn II, and Vaughn. He resides in Richmond, VA.